East Hampton micro grid study nears end of first phase

Rooftop solar panels are visible at the East Hampton Village Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street in East Hampton on Jan. 15, 2016. Officials are looking at the possibility of building a micro grid to power the building and other necessary services in the area in the event of outages to the main electric grid. Photo Credit: Gordon M. Grant

“A community micro grid in East Hampton would keep critical services going in the event of a power outage during a severe storm or other emergency while also saving us energy and money during normal operation,” Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said.

Facilities under consideration are the East Hampton Airport, East Hampton Village Emergency Services, East Hampton High School, Town Hall Campus, East Hampton Healthcare Foundation, the Montauk Fire Department and the Montauk Playhouse.

The police and fire departments are based at the Emergency Services building, which also serves East Hampton Town.

As the Village of East Hampton considers the feasibility of a community micro grid, the village has installed solar panels on the roof of the Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street and inverters, shown here, in the basement, to convert the DC current from the solar panels to AC current. Photo Credit: Gordon M. Grant

“It’s really exciting,” said John Sousa-Botos, project manager and environmental technician for the town’s Natural Resources Department. “It’s another example of the town tackling climate change and making the town more resilient.”

A consortium of three national firms led by Hitachi Consulting is evaluating various options, and its report is expected to be completed in February. The other companies are Johnson Controls and the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The consortium’s findings are expected to show which critical facilities can be included in the micro grid areas, along with estimated cost, energy savings and other benefits.

Work on the study started in November. It is being funded with a $100,000 award through NY Prize, a three-stage competition administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to support community grid planning and development.

The feasibility study is the first stage. Audit-grade engineering design and business planning is to be completed in stage two, and project development in stage three.

“If the study shows that building such a resilient, clean and smart energy system makes sense for the town, we can apply for additional state grants to pursue this further,” Councilwoman Sylvia Overby said.

Rooftop solar panels are visible at the East Hampton Village Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street in East Hampton on Jan. 15, 2016. Officials are looking at the possibility of building a micro grid to power the building and other necessary services in the area in the event of outages to the main electric grid. Photo Credit: Gordon M. Grant

John Westerman, vice president of Hitachi Microgrid Solutions, said that maintaining the electricity supply in power outages is critical to a community’s safety and resilience.